Bhubaneswar, Feb. 20: Cracking the driving test has become tougher since the Chandrasekharpur driving test centre introduced a serpentine track and a sloping track with 35 per cent failures recorded at the Regional Transport Office, Bhubaneswar-II, between May last year and this January.

Transport department officials said the driving test would become further difficult when the automated tracks are introduced later this year.

Statistics available with the RTO-II revealed that between February and April last year, 2,516 applicants passed the test while 366 failed.

But, the introduction of the new tracks in May last year saw 3,030 licence aspirants failing to drive past the get qualifying parameter till January this year. During these nine months, 5,583 aspirants cleared the driving test.

Since May last year, the applicants seeking driving licence of two-wheelers need to undergo a test on the serpentine track, while those for light motor vehicles (four-wheelers) have to do it on a sloping track.

"Many applicants for car licence failed to drive in reverse gear and on the sloping track. Besides, a number of two-wheeler driving licence applicants failed because they grounded their feet while going through the serpentine track," said regional transport officer, Bhubaneswar-II, S.K. Behera.

An applicant seeking a driving licence can take a driving test 30 days after getting the learner's licence.

"If applicants fail the test, they can take another test after seven days. If they fail to pass the retest, they can technically go on taking tests every seven days till the end of validity of the learner's licence," said a transport official.

Some applicants felt the difficulty level of the tests was too high.

"We don't have sloping roads in the city where we can prepare for the driving test. It is very difficult for an applicant who has learnt driving recently to pass the gradient test. Only experienced drivers can do it," said Akash Mohanty, who failed the test today.

A transport official, however, justified the gradient test. He said applicants were expected to take the test only after honing their skills.

"They need to practice well before taking the test. In future, the testing centre will have automated driving tracks that would be fitted with cameras and censors and the driving test result would be obtained through computerised methods," he added.